The Wide Angle - The most creative lens?

Alright, even though I only have the kit lens now and soon a 24-70, but no actual ultra wide angle, I've seen a lot of wide angle shots, and I can't help but think about shooting wide angle more then I do shooting say 50mm or something. Theres something about wide angle that to me (including the fishey) makes it feel like such a creative tool. I was thinking of shooting a rectangle building like a school near me, but being able to get two sides of the building by standing in the corner with a 180 degree fish eye, instead of the direct view you'de get from say standing infront of the building with a 50mm lens.

I'm in the same pond as you. I love using my wide angle.
Portrait made with it, if framed correctly, which is difficult, can be very pleasant
and rewarding. Just put the perspective distortion on your side!

I would like to have a lens equivalent to 12mmFF. More like a 7.5mm on a crop, but
not fisheye, rectilinear.

Bear in mind the only thing that will be classified as an ultrawide on your 30D is a 10-22 or lens with similar focal length. (12mm is fine, too). You will want a 8mm fish (either Sigma fish for AF or Peleng fish for MF). Remember your crop factor.

I am an ex-10-22 owner who traded up to the 17-40. Before everybody starts thinking 17 is "ultra wide", it's only UW on full frame, and that's how I use it. I don't even consider it UW on a 1.3x crop!

Now that's out of the way these are my two favorite lenses on their respective platforms. More of my top favorite keepers have been shot with these than any other of my lenses.

It depends though, whether you 'see' in ultrawide. And don't go crazy with the UW, sometimes a standard or a tele might do better.

A fish requires a special talent to use WELL. I have met one guy who was AWESOME with his full frame FILM camera, black and white film and his fish. Forget whether it was a 8mm or 15mm, I THINK it is 15mm because he is using FF and can get away with it. His work had the true mark of a fish expert, the way he positioned the objects to the side of the frame for maximum distortion while controlling the center so they 'framed' the subject was absolutely amazing. He has the eye.. I cannot 'see' in a fish eye so I do not use or own one.

He let me play with a Sigma 8mm as well, and while it was really fun for the first 20 shots, I doubt I would be a long-term user. Not trying to dissuade you from trying it, just letting you know that it may not be a long term keeper.

Lightstream wrote in post #2155830
A fish requires a special talent to use WELL. I have met one guy who was AWESOME with his full frame FILM camera, black and white film and his fish. Forget whether it was a 8mm or 15mm, I THINK it is 15mm because he is using FF and can get away with it. His work had the true mark of a fish expert, the way he positioned the objects to the side of the frame for maximum distortion while controlling the center so they 'framed' the subject was absolutely amazing. He has the eye.. I cannot 'see' in a fish eye so I do not use or own one.

The best wide-angle fish work I've seen is W. Eugene Smith's series on a chemical spill in Japan.

I really agree that wide angle will often give you something you just can't get by backing up. A sense of immidiacy, of in your face presence. It's very useful for journalism work, beacuse, of course, you want people drawn in. I use a 17-40, and would probably buy a 10-22 but I'm rather certain about my non-EF-S upgrade path. For now I just play with the 17-40 on film .

I have seen lots of creative photographers, but I have never seen a creative lenses.

Use by a creative photographer, both super wide and telephoto lenses can produce some very striking images. That is because they have a different angle of view from what we are used to. Telephoto allows you to isolate subjects that otherwise get lost in the background and tends to compress distances. Super wide give you the perspective and depth of field to make your main subject look big in comparison to it surrondings, but still place it in its environment.

When I got my first super wide lens I was very disappointed. I now had a lens that was wide enough to get whole mountains in the frame. The trouble was that the mountains looked much smaller and less impressive when framed that way. After a little practice I learned to put foreground and medium distance objects in the photo to give the viewer a better sense of perspective and relative size. Now some of my favorite compositions are done with my 10-22 EF-S. It is not my main lens, but I would not want to be without it.

I would agree that a wide angle lens can be used in a very creative fashion and adds much to your "arsenal" but in the end it's the person behind the lens that makes things happen.

I own a Sigma 10-20 for my 1.6x crop body.. and for lack of a better word, it's a very "social" lens. It pulls the viewer into the scene, as if he were right there with the subjects. I love the extreme perpective the lens gives rectangular/square objects, and I can think of no better way to capture sweeping landscapes than with a UWA.